Convict settlment ruins at the Coal Mines Historic Site near Port Arthur, Tasmania

Coal Mines Historic Site Master Plan

The Coal Mines Historic Site is a site of outstanding historical, and rare natural heritage values that has a unique combination of a complex history, natural beauty and tranquil ambience.

For the past several years, a project has been underway to develop a comprehensive Master Plan for the Coal Mines Historic Site, to guide future conservation and tourism activities.

Plan You Visit:

The Coal Mines Historic Site (Coal Mines), near Saltwater River on the Tasman Peninsula, was Tasmania’s first mining site and a feared component of the convict punishment system.

Today the Coal Mines is one of eleven sites that comprise the Australian Convicts Sites World Heritage property. The Coal Mines is currently managed by the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA) under the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority Act 1987, along with the Port Arthur Historic Site and the Cascades Female Factory.

PAHSMA has an obligation to manage the heritage values of the sites under its care and control and to ensure the protection, conservation, presentation and transmission of these values to all generations.

The purpose of this Master Plan is to provide PAHSMA with a management planning document that reviews the current management issues found at the Coal Mines and establish objectives for the future management of the Site.